I Became the Academy's Disabled Student-Chapter 318: Dragon out of the cradle (3)

A vivid red mist, as if blossoming from blood, spread slowly.

The mist, which sank down, stuck to the frozen ground, and the mist that flowed with the wind painted the air.

It was as if the world itself were being soaked in blood, and Spada let out a hollow laugh.

"Isn't this a rather violent ability for someone so refined?"

That wasn't all. Spada clenched his fist, feeling the tingling sensation in his fingertips.

Although it wasn't visible to the naked eye, the hostility coming toward him, as though it were slashing through him, was just as chilling as the blood aura itself.

His body, unaffected by the cold in the nearby area, instinctively felt a sense of danger in the face of that hostility.

[Don't try to pin the misunderstanding you've created on others.]

The wind approached. The pungent, blood-tinged aura brushed against his nostrils in the cool chill.

Lee Ha-yul's body was wrapped in the blood aura, not clearly visible, but the aura's advance was plainly visible.

The blood aura, which had been approaching, suddenly accelerated.

The red streak stretched out. A short distance was closed in an instant.

Spada furrowed his brow and raised his arm.

Swish! The snowflakes that overlapped with the trajectory were cleanly cut with a sharp slice.

Even the farthest end of the expanded blood aura was severed.

He missed. Something suddenly shot out from the blood aura, which had burrowed below the trajectory. A fist, wrapped in a red mist.

Spada slashed his hand down.

Bang!

"Ugh...!?"

He hit it, but he couldn't sever it.

The force pushing back was far stronger than he expected, sending a shock through his arm. The blood aura-covered fist pushed his blade away.

Spada's eyes widened in shock.

Avoiding the blow was understandable. You can't hit every attack.

But to have it bounce off without leaving even a scratch?

His foot slipped back. Spada gathered his mana.

The intangible energy coiled around his arms. His unique ability intertwined and wrapped around them.

His arms were like swords. Capable of cutting through iron like tofu and slicing the skin of even the toughest monsters with ease.

Bang!

Again, he couldn’t cut through.

The blood aura-covered fists skillfully blocked the strikes, deflecting them with expertise.

‘Not an assassin, but a martial artist?’

Seeing how the opponent hid his presence, Spada had assumed he was an assassin, but after exchanging a few blows, it became clear that wasn't the case.

The pressure in his arms, along with the level of skill displayed in such a short period, was far from ordinary.

Adjusting his judgment, Spada increased the flow of mana.

The energy wrapped around his arms swelled, bulging out.

He shook his arms forcefully. Crunch! Hundreds of small, rapid strikes surged forward, sweeping across the area.

Having already anticipated the prelude, Lee Ha-yul deftly stepped aside, not taking the hit head-on, but retreating outside the range.

"Haah..."

Once again, the distance between them widened. Spada exhaled deeply, shaking his arms to release the tension.

"Hey, do we really have to go this far? I've been living pretty quietly lately."

There was no answer. The blood aura continued to advance. It seemed that Lee Ha-yul didn't feel like answering.

Spada looked around.

"Is it really okay to fight like this in the middle of a city?"

The independent city of Bologda was quite prosperous. Due to the surrounding dungeons and monsters, the industry in the area had developed, and the population had grown.

"I’m no slouch myself. If I go all out, I can stir up quite a ruckus. And aren’t you a user of elemental magic? Do you think you can control it properly?"

Elemental abilities affected the surrounding environment. An attack with full force could have wide-reaching consequences.

An ability that is easy to use in a city like this is not ideal.

If Spada or the executive body of the association fought with full intent, it would be inevitable that the surrounding area would be destroyed.

While material damage could be repaired, casualties would not be so easy to fix.

Spada continued to press on the issue.

"If we fight here, there will be plenty of deaths."

[People?]

The advancing blood aura seemed to tilt as if cocking its head.

[There are hardly any people around here. And they’re all moving further away.]

"What?"

Spada reflexively asked, his guard never wavering, as he scanned the area with his eyes.

The carnage he had created. There was no blood or flesh scattered among the shattered ruins.

[The only casualties I need to worry about here are you and your subordinates.]

As they entered through the gate, he had discreetly suggested to the guards and the passing pedestrians that something was wrong.

They were likely caught up in some inexplicable anxiety, and had probably started contacting others.

[And... ]

Whoosh! The blood aura enveloping Lee Ha-yul swelled dramatically.

[Do you think you should be concerned about that?]

The swirling mist surged. Spada swallowed a breath and raised both arms again.

"Shit, this isn’t good."

Outwardly calm, Spada cursed inwardly.

Should he fight the association's executive body head-on? That would not be ideal.

Before determining victory or defeat, a confrontation would drag on the time, and reinforcements would only make things worse.

No matter how he tried to escape, being pursued would be troublesome.

The situation was getting tangled up.

‘For now, I have to find a way to overpower him, even if it means cutting off limbs...’

Once again, the mist closed in, just like before. Blood aura wrapped around an arm...

It clashed and mixed, swelling up.

Spada felt the hair on the back of his neck rise. This was dangerous. Reflexively, he crossed his arms.

A fist wrapped in blood swirled with force shot out.

Crash!

The fist landed, dragging the whirlpool with it.

The surrounding blood aura was sucked into the vortex, which spilled outward.

‘This crazy...!’

Swallowing a scream, Spada planted his feet, but his legs were dragged. His body bent backward.

The vortex that was pouring from the front? If he got caught in it, he wouldn't come out unscathed.

"Gg... Gggh..."

Grinding his teeth, Spada gathered his strength.

‘Manifestation.’

Sword transformation.

Crackling! Sword blades shot out from around his elbows, forming long blades that protected his arms. The blades were wrapped with energy.

Chk-chk-chk-chk!

The clash of the vortex and the sword blades intertwined. They cut, blocked, and pushed each other, exhausting each other’s strength.

The vortex’s momentum slowed.

But Spada didn’t relax.

Behind the now hazy vortex, Lee Ha-yul’s other arm, also wrapped in blood aura, was charging forward to strike.

A second attack. A new vortex formed behind the weakening one.

Spada gritted his teeth and violently shook both arms.

Once again, vortex and sword clashes intertwined, the force of the struggle causing the ground to crack.

‘Above.’

As Spada blocked the vortex with his arms, he felt a chilling sensation tickling the back of his neck and lifted his head.

The blue sky and the scarlet clouds. Through them, Lee Ha-yul, arms wrapped in blood vortex, was descending.

Spada, horrified, stamped the ground. The vortex veered diagonally and disrupted the earth.

Lee Ha-yul’s arms slammed into the ground. The earth trembled. The vortex wasn’t unleashed yet.

Landing on the ground, Lee Ha-yul dashed forward, his arms raised, the blood vortex swirling behind him.

Spada, who had already distanced himself, reinforced his arms with sword blades to counter.

In the narrowed space, swords and arms clashed. The sword blades released rapid strikes while the blood aura followed with punches.

Bang! Bang! Boom!

The series of collisions echoed through the air.

The sword couldn’t cut through the punches, nor could it sever them.

‘What the...?’

Every strike of Spada’s sword was blocked.

It felt strange. It was as if the direction of his sword was being predicted, and every move was easily read.

It felt as though the sword was playing in the air, completely anticipated.

Bang! The punch broke through the sword blade, striking Spada's arm with a heavy blow. Flesh tore, and blood splattered.

Szzzt...!

The wound allowed the blood aura to seep in. The pain surged around the injury, eventually tearing the wound open.

Spada clicked his tongue and used mana to suppress the foreign energy seeping into his body.

‘Wound deterioration? Damn this elemental ability...’

That wasn’t all.

The surrounding red mist, which had filled the area, suddenly compressed and slammed down on Spada.

Spada, who hadn’t lowered his guard, urgently struck the mist aside with his sword, but Lee Ha-yul quickly seized the opportunity and delivered another brutal attack, mixing the vortex with a punch.

Bang!

The gut-wrenching blow made Spada wince.

For a moment, the strikes paused, but the mist closed in again, and Lee Ha-yul advanced.

‘I misjudged.’

Spada realized his mistake.

Cutting off limbs to overpower him? That was the wrong approach.

His opponent wasn’t just skilled.

He was far superior. The only option now was to flee, not to fight.

Tch!

Spada’s subordinate, Ksas, who had been waiting for an opportunity outside the battle, pounded the ground at that very moment.

‘Acting like a big shot and getting beaten now.’

This wasn’t due to some sense of loyalty.

Spada knew that even if he escaped now, he would be caught eventually, and Ksas, too, would be caught in the end.

While Lee Ha-yul was distracted with the struggle, Ksas would try to sneak in.

He wasn’t powerful enough to intervene directly but could act as an annoyance.

Csas, who had slammed the ground, began to subtly encircle the red mist, watching it carefully.

He confirmed that the mist was an elemental ability, capable of shifting into attacks.

Slowly, he started cutting off its edges, taking his time to suppress it.

‘Summon.’

At that moment.

Two glowing eyes appeared within the blood mist.

The moment Ksas felt unease, the maw of a monster broke through the mist.

“What...!”

A monstrous mouth filled the vision, and Ksas, horrified, reflexively swung his sword, but the monster swiftly bit down on the blade.

Crunch!

The teeth stopped the sword.

The blue energy swirled, trying to slice through the teeth and flesh, but the blood aura inside the monster’s mouth suppressed the power, pushing the sword deeper.

[You little bastard, handle it yourself.]

“Grrr...”

The snarling monster, now a servant, clenched its jaws.

With a snap, the monster, Aeerus, crushed the sword with its teeth and swung its front paw fiercely.

Boom!

The force of Ksas' power was matched by the monster’s blow, sending him flying back.

“Aaaargh!”

Aerus, howling fiercely, charged after Ksas, swirling with blood aura.

[Your only subordinate won’t be of help anymore.]

‘Useless bastard.’

Watching the scene with a sidelong glance, Spada’s face twisted in frustration.

Bang!

"Ugh!"

Right after, he felt a sharp impact in his abdomen, and his face turned pale.

The sword that had sprouted from his abdomen absorbed the shock and fell to the ground.

When he lifted his head, he was struck in the face, and his consciousness wavered.

‘Ah, when was that...?’

Then, suddenly, a memory from the past came to him.

He was looking for artifacts with Hong Yeon-jun in the gray area when they encountered a yellow glow.

And before they knew it, they were both beaten to near death.

There had been flashes of light in his limbs, and when he regained consciousness, his body was destroyed, rolling on the ground.

Even now, it felt similar.

If that was the case, then he should act just like back then and flee.

[?]

Bang!

At that moment, a powerful strike erupted from Spada.

Lee Ha-yul, who had been pressuring him, took a brief step back.

That moment of delay was all Spada needed.

Gritting his teeth, Spada made his final stand.

Crack! Sword blades sprouted from every part of his body, dull silver, without any shine.

But they didn’t stop there; new blades began to sprout from them, like branches on a tree.

Hundreds of swords had sprouted from his body, a grotesque display. Each one was wrapped in intangible energy.

“Shit, try blocking this.”

[!]

Recognizing the prelude, Lee Ha-yul hastily raised his arms. Crackling! The blood aura surrounding Spada gathered towards him.

Sword transformation extension ability.

Shachenra(奢僭亂刺)

An indiscriminate barrage of strikes without any restraint.

The power of the strikes, heightened to a terrifying level, increased their range exponentially.

They could easily reach beyond the city walls and strike civilians fleeing the chaos.

Thus, the blood aura desperately tried to block the attacks.

Those who valued lives had no choice but to defend against the strikes, leaving even the smallest openings.

‘Now.’

Spada hurriedly rummaged through his robes.

The space-magic artifact he always carried for such an emergency.

It would send the user to a distant location with a single activation.

Although expensive and complicated, it was exactly what he needed at this moment.

Whoooom!

With a surge of mana, the spell exploded, and Spada was whisked away by the magic.

By then, the barrage of strikes had started to slow down, but not a single one had missed the blood aura’s target.

“Fucking... monster bastard.”

Just like before, how the hell had he gotten caught by such a creature?

The vibrations of space swallowed Spada’s body.

The one who had been recklessly throwing out strikes melted into the air, vanishing.

It was the space-magic that Spada had activated.

‘Carrying such an expensive item.’

Space-magic was incredibly difficult to inscribe into an artifact. What was available in the market were mostly small spatial bags.

It was a bit surprising that a criminal like Spada was carrying such an item.

Of course, it didn’t mean his skill had diminished.

'Strong.'

Spada's abilities were truly extraordinary.

Even though he relied on his blood aura and physical abilities for close combat, he had made the most of those capabilities.

Despite that, he had kept the fight quite balanced until the very end.

But what struck me as odd was the sense of unfamiliarity in his abilities.

‘A twisted unique ability?’

It wasn’t just a simple ability to create sword blades from his body. There was a strange, unsettling feeling about it throughout the fight.

Especially the final barrage of strikes—it was extremely dangerous.

If the blood aura hadn’t been prepared, blocking it with just the aura alone would have been impossible.

‘Crazy bastard.’

Though it wasn’t my problem, thousands of strikes had almost rained down from all directions.

If the blood aura hadn’t been ready, I would’ve had to reveal alternative methods.

Shaking my head, I gathered the remaining blood aura and wrapped it around me.

[Hmm.]

Surrounded by blood aura, I honestly didn’t feel pleased.

After all, that ability almost killed me, didn’t it? It still appears in my nightmares.

Grr...

The monster, the main character of those nightmares, was slowly approaching. Its jaws clutched the arm of one of Spada's subordinates, dragging it along.

‘Why the hell is it only chewing on people’s arms?’

Is it doing it on purpose?

I wanted to smack it for messing with my trauma, but since it had a certain specialty, I held back.

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[Good job, you.]

Grrr...

[Shut up and get inside.]

The damn thing was stuffed back into the space.

It was likely the result of an Alpha-tier monster's latent potential, wasn’t it? Despite the lack of assistance from Taesan, it fought decently.

Of course, the fact that I was using blood aura with it made its performance even more effective.

After the fierce battle, the area was visibly lowered compared to the surrounding terrain. I casually poked at the figure lying on the ground nearby.

I had introduced it as Foibel, but according to the bounty, his real name was Ksas, a superhuman.

‘This guy’s a bottom-tier member; even if I open his head, he won’t be much use.’

For now, I had captured him, but I wasn’t expecting much. It seemed unlikely that he had valuable information with such skills. I’d hand him over to the association.

Murmurs...

As the signs of battle began to fade, people who had taken refuge started to gather slowly.

Upon carefully observing, I confirmed that, as planned, there had been no casualties.

The hints had been planted, and with the spirit summoner and spirits helping, the evacuation was successful.

As for material damage... Well, it could be repaired.

‘...Maybe I should head out now.’

The association would handle the aftermath. After contacting them, I dusted off my robe and quietly left the scene.

‘Wonder when they’ll arrive.’

A coordinate popped up in my mind.

It was Spada’s location, which was being sent in real-time.

‘After being hit by my surveillance and taking all that punishment from me, there's no way he can escape.’

If we had fought at full strength, I could have subdued him easily and blocked his escape with spatial abilities.

But I didn’t.

I had hoped he’d lead me to the group’s base.

‘He might circle around to avoid being tracked... but eventually, we’ll meet up.’

I could open his head and extract information, but there’s a high chance of failure, and if I’m not careful, he might just die.

‘For now, I’ll just follow him.’

The place Spada fled to seemed to be in the direction I had roughly estimated.

If I felt him turning in circles, then I’d focus on finding the entrance to the back.